By Jonathan Friedman
Associate Editor

December 8, 2014 -- National unemployment was at 5.8 percent in November, just as it was in October, according to information released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Whether Santa Monica was above or below that rate in November will be determined later this month when the State releases its statistics.

For October, Santa Monica was above the national mark with an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent, according to the California Employment Development Department (EDD).

There were 3,800 people designated as unemployed, which the EDD’s website says “includes those individuals who were not working, but were able, available and actively looking for work.”

A city’s unemployment rate is based upon the people who live there, regardless of where they work.

Santa Monica’s October unemployment rate was a slight increase from September, when it was 6.4 percent. However, the number of unemployed people was the same in both months.

There was a higher number of employed people in September than in October, and therefore the total potential workforce number. This explains the difference in the two unemployment rates.

Santa Monica’s unemployment rate has gone up and down each month this year. The State does not make seasonal adjustments for the data. The rates this year for January through August were:

• January 7.4 percent (4,300 people)
• February 7.3 percent (4,200 people)
• March 7.2 percent (4,200 people)
• April 6.2 percent (3,600 people)
• May 6.5 percent (3,800 people)
• June 6.7 percent (3,900 people)
• July 7.1 percent (4,200 people)
• August 7.0 percent (4,100 people)

Santa Monica’s October unemployment rate was below the Los Angeles County rate of 7.9 percent. This city had the 62nd-highest unemployment rate among the county’s 127 cities and unincorporated census-designated areas.

The highest unemployment rate was in the census-designated area of Florence-Graham with 16.2 percent. The city with the highest unemployment rate was the City of Commerce with 15.2 percent.

Rolling Hills had the lowest unemployment rate in the county with 1.3 percent. With a population of under 2,000, the city of Rolling Hills has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the nation.

Other unemployment rates in the county of note were the city of Los Angeles with 8.7 percent, Malibu with 2.6 percent, Burbank with 6.4 percent, Palmdale with 9.9 percent, Manhattan Beach with 2.7 percent, Long Beach with 8.7 percent and Redondo Beach with 4.1 percent.